Black Music Research Newsletter v7 no1 1984

BLACK MUSIC RESEARCH
NEWSLETTER
COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO/FISK UNIVERSITY
Vol. 7, No.1 ISSN Number 0271-3799 Fall 1984
Black Music and the Humanities in America:
A Summer Institute for Faculty from United Negro College Fund­Affiliated
Schools
by William T. Dargan, Institute Director
Fisk University has become the fourth
school to host an annual summer
institute for humanities teachers from
member institutions of the United
Negro College Fund (UNCF). Funded
by the Mellon Foundation, this four­week
institute was held during the
month of June, 1984 and examined
black music as a focal point for
curriculum development. Twenty
faculty members from UNCF schools
participated, and there were ten
lecturer-consultants available
periodically throughout the four
weeks, along with a permanent, full­time
staff of four. The staff sought to
attract participants who would
broadly represent the range of
humanities disciplines, including but
not limited to music, since the two-fold
purpose of this learning
experience was to increase the
participants' knowledge of the
humanities, as viewed from a black
perspective, and to stimulate
curriculum development.
Activities of the institute were
organized around four broad themes,
each emphasized for one week.
During the first week, lectures on
recent developments and future
directions in black music research and
curriculum development were
presented by Samuel A. Floyd, Jr.,
Columbia College, Chicago;
Dominique-Rene de Lerma, Morgan
State University; Darius L. Thieme,
Fisk University; and James Standifer,
University of Michigan.
Black folk and religious music since
1800 were considered during the
second week. Lect\lrer-consultants
were Portia Maultsby, Indiana
University; Riggins Earl,
Interdenominational Theological
Seminary, Atlanta; Horace C. Boyer,
University of Massachusetts; and
Bernice J. Reagon, the Smithsonian
Institution.
The third week focused on the
general subject of black composers
and musical theater, and lecturer­consultants
were Geneva Southall,
University of Minnesota; Eileen
Southern, Harvard University; and
Martin Williams, the Smithsonian
Institution.
The work of institute participants in
developing curriculum materials was
the subject of the fourth and final
week. Each participant had prepared,
with the help of lecturers-consultants
and staff, a teaching unit on a topic
that could cover four to six class
hours or a two-week study period.
Materials researched and written
during the institute are to be tested
through use in UNCF schools and
subsequently developed into
workbooks, manuals, and/or
textbooks uniquely suited to the
needs of interdisciplinary instruction
in the humanities and fine arts. To
this end, copies of selected curriculum
materials developed at the institute
will be forwarded to each UNCF
member institution as well as to each
institute participant.
Participants often commented on the
need for the development of
curriculum materials about the black
experience that are suitable for use in
the general, arts appreciation-oriented
courses required of all first- and
second-year students at liberal arts
institutions. Other than The
Humanities Through the Black
Experience, a somewhat dated and
uneven selection of units edited by
Phyllis Klotman, few publications
meet this pressing need.
Consequently, institute participants
were found to have developed their
own materials from year to year as a
means of compensating for this lack.
Until something more is available,
these locally assembled, cheaply
reproduced, in-house compendiums
must suffice. And that they do quite
well. But there is the felt need for the
synthesis of ideas and insights that
only works achieving more general
currency could provide. This is to say
that the form in which teaching
materials are presented makes a
strong impression upon the minds for
whom they are produced. Eileen
Southern's The Music of Black
Americans: A History, the definitive
history of Afro-American music,
represents a strong point of departure
for the "serious" student of black
music. But there is no comparably
authoritative or imaginative textbook
available to students who are charged
with understanding black music in its
Continued on page 2
2
relationship to other disciplines that
articulate its socio-cultural context.
The absence of such a published text
presents other problems as well. The
common wisdom is that a good
teacher can make a subject "come
alive." But too much of a burden is
placed upon even outstanding
professors in teaching institutions,
who must carry unwieldy class loads
and research and write much of their
own course materials, if the
humanities and fine arts are to be
taught from a black perspective.
Moreover, humanities teachers (along
with those in other areas) Sttk to
encourage critical thought and
searching reflection by students who
encounter the subject for perhaps the
first time. In any case, it certainly
does not follow that because courses
are introductory or "general" they
must necessarily be unimaginative or
trite. These factors place a severe
burden upon the individual or team
within a single institution that must
be responsible for researching,
writing, and teaching a course that by
nature and design is interdisciplinary.
Teaching units developed by institute
participants speak to most, if not all,
of the concerns mentioned above.
Several of these units are unique for
the singular and timely quality of the
topics themselves. For instance, how
many courses presently encompass
"Images of Black Women in the
Blues," "A Local History of Black
Music in Memphis, Tennessee," or "A
Model for an Aesthetic Analysis of
the Blues?" How many courses
challenge students to think and write
cogently about "Parallels in Black Art
and Popular Music," or to identify
"Archetypal Patterns in Black Poetry
and Song?" Can faculty or students
tell us who Frances Cole (1937-1983)
was or understand the life and times
of diva Jessye Norman enough to
fully appreciate her artistic
excellence7
The list of teaching units that follows
suggests that movement had begun
toward improved instruction in the
humanities through the use of black
music as a tool or enhancer. For this,
we have to thank those institute
participants who make maximum use
of limited time and research facilities
in developing materials that could
have a lasting impact on the "what"
and the "how" of humanities teaching
in American schools.
List of Authors and
Teaching Unit Topics
Anderson, Phyllis Wynn (Paine
College, Augusta, GA). A Study of
Black Women in Opera with
Emphasis upon Jessye Norman.
Blake, Bobby (Knoxville College,
Knoxville, TN). Selected Negro
Spirituals as Performed by the Fisk
Jubilee Singers.
Chamblee, Angela (Atlanta
University, Atlanta, GA). The Ethos
of the Blues: A Teaching Unit.
Champagne, Deborah (Wiley College,
Marshall, TX). The Value of the
Universal: A Perspective on Imagery
and Archetypal Patterns in Black
Literature and Song.
Collins, Willie R. (Tuskeegee
Institute, Tuskeegee Institute, AL). A
Study in Black American Musical
Aesthetics with Particular Attention
to the Blues.
Curry-Jones, Beulah Agnes (Huston­Tillotson
College, Austin, TX). A
Profile of Dr. Frances Elaine Cole
(1937-83), Harpsichordist.
Oobard, Roland A. (T ougaloo
College, Tougaloo, MS). The Negro
Spiritual as Arranged by Four Black
Composers.
Green, Mildred 0. (Lemoyne-Owen
College, Memphis, TN). Black Music
and Musicians in Memphis, Tennessee
from 1950-1980.
Green, Paulette B. (Voorhees College,
Denmark, SC). Images of the Black
Woman in Blues Lyrics.
Holt, Freddie T. (Johnson C. Smith
Univsersity, Charlotte, NC). Musical,
Visual, and Cultural Parallelism
Between Art Depicted on the Album
"Water Babies" by Miles Davis and
the Music Therein.
la.Falle-Collins, Lizzetta (Tuskegee
Institute, Tuskegee Institute, AL). The
Image of the Musician in African­American
Art: Positive or Negative.
laRue, Earl (Wiley College, Marshall,
TX). The Use of the Spiritual as a
Signal for Slave Uprisings and
Movement Toward Freedom.
McNealey, Ernest ( Oaflin College,
Orangeburg, SC). ParaT/e/s in Black
Art and Black Popular Music
Between 1965 and 1975: Vehicles for
Socio-Political Rhetoric.
Mickens, Hayward I. (Fisk
University, Nashville, TN). Afro­American
Folksong Collections and
Their Compilers.
Perry, Frank (Jarvis Chr istian
College, Hawkins, TX). Paying Dues:
The Development of Selected Afro­American
Opera Singer.
PoweU, Hiram C. (Bethune-Cookman
College, Daytona Beach, Fl). The
Effect of Black Culture on Native
European Composers of Keyboard
Music.
Thomas, Eve.rett (Saint Augustine's
College, Raleigh, NC). A Profile of
Selected Black Composers of
Liturgical Music.
Woodfaulk, Courtney 5. (Claflin
College, Orangeburg, SC). An
Investigation of Black Gospel Music:
A Historical Perspective.
WorreU, Imogene M. (Fisk
University, Nashville, TN). Folk
Music for Black Children.
Those interested in obtaining a copy
of any one teaching unit should
contact the author. A selected
number of teaching units will be
included in The Institute Materials, a
publication that should be available
by August, 1985. A brief description
of the bibliography from other units
developed during the institute will
also be included. A limited number of
copies of The Institute Materials will
be available to those who request
them in writing from The Institute for
Research in Black American Music,
Fisk University, Nashville, TN 37203.
A check for $3.00 (made payable to
Fisk University) to cover shipping and
handling charges should accompany
each order.
While no funding has been sought for
research expenses or for faculty
release time to follow up this project,
perhaps a process of collaboration
and dialogue has been set in motion.
Such a beginning could ultimately
generate materials to meet the needs
of students in introductory
humanities and fine arts courses who
seek a deeper understanding of the
black experience in America.
3
Composers Corner
by Lucius Wyatt, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas
Leslie Adams
Leslie Adams (b. 1932), whose career
in music had afforded him rich
experiences with various professional
ballets and dance organiutions, is
currently composing music on a full­time
basis in Cleveland, Ohio. From
1957 to 1962 Adams served as piano
accompanist for the American Ballet
Center, the Robert Joffrey Ballet, the
June Taylor Dancers, the Newark
Ballet Academy, the Karl Shook
Dancers and the Ruthanna Boris
Ballet. His interest in the dance is
even noted in his student years at
Oberlin where he was approached by
a choreographer to compose the
music for a ballet. The result was his
ballet, A Kiss in Xanadu.
Before assuming his current position
as composer-in-residence at the
Cleveland Music School Settlement,
Adams held various positions as
vocal music teacher, church choir
director, and university professor. He
has served as musical director and
composer-in-residence at the Karamu
House in Cleveland, and he has
ta1.1ght on the faculties of Florida
A&M University and the University
of Kansas.
Leslie Adams received his bachelor's
degree from Oberlin, the Master of
Arts degree from California State
University at Long Beach, and the
Ph.D. degree from Ohio State
University. He has pursued studies in
composition with Herbert Elwell,
Joseph Wood, Robert Starer, Vittorio
Giannini, Leon Dallin, Edward
Mattila, Eugene O'Brien, and Marcel
Dick. In 1979 he was a Fellow at the
Rockefeller Foundation's Villa
Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy and a
Fellow of the Yaddo Artists Colony
in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Several of Adams's musical activities
have contributed to his uniqueness as
a composer and an educator. His
participation as a composer in the
Meet the Artist series funded by the
Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
was judged an outstanding success.
This project afforded him
opportunities to interact with school
children about music in more than
sixty public schools in Cleveland. He
has served on the panel of judges for
the student composition awards
sponsored by Broadcast Music, Inc.
(1982). His Concerto for Piano and
Orchestra was performed in the 1974
Symposium of Symphonic Music by
Black Composers in Houston.
Recently, he began work on a large­scale
work, the opera Blake. The
opera is based on a novel by Martin
R. Delany about an imaginary slave
uprising in Mississippi before the
Civil War. The librettist for Blake is
Daniel Mayers, Dean at Brooklyn
College.
The music of Leslie Adams has been
performed by such orchestras as the
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Following a performance of. his
Hosanna to the Son of David by the
Evelyn White Chorale at the national
Gallery of Art, Lon Tuck of the
Washington Post wrote, "The most
exciting moment came in the
Washington premiere of ... Hosanna
to the Son of David." Other works
have been performed by noted
musicians such as organist Leonard
Raver, pianist Armenta Adams
Hummings, cellist Donald White, and
soprano Barbara Conrad. Raoul
Abdul of the New York Amsterdam
News has written, 'The New York
premiere of Adams's Meadow Lark
{from the Dunbar songs) turned out
to be one of the highlights of the
program."
Adams feels his personal philosophy
about composing music is inextricably
related to his own life experiences. He
states, 'The creating of music is, for
me, the setting down of experience:
experiences I have had (and)
experiences I am having .... The
part of my experiences which has
been most rewarding has been my
spiritual progress, which has provided
me with a context for my work. My
faith in God and my awareness of the
assignment which he has given to me,
to write music, has helped me to be
evermore relaxed and unanxious
about my life and work."
Leslie Adams explains his approach to
composing music in the following
manner: "In order to write, I try to
keep my mind free of other music
when I'm working. I don't go to a lot
of concerts or listen to a lot of
classical music, particularly
contemporary classical music. I don't
want to get my mind clouded and
end up writing what I just heard. I go
into a room with a piano and
preferably not much else in that room
to distract me and I just go at it.
Sometimes it's very slow. 1 might
spend a whole day piddling around
trying to get something down and
then all of a sudden when I least
expect it, around eight at night, it just
takes off!"
In his Sonata for Violin and Piano,
the Sonata for Cello and Piano, the
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,
and the piece for solo voice, For You
There ls No Song, his musical style
may be summarized in the following
manner. He writes melodies which
are apt to leave the liste.ner humming
or whistling long after the music is
finished. His tonal language is
basically triadic with emphasis on
definite key centers. He generally
devotes considerable attention to
thematic development. To be sure,
the spirit and character of his music
goes in the opposite direction of the
avant-garde.
The Music of Leslie Adams
Orchestra
A Kiss in Xanadu, concert piece,
1954; revised, 1973.
All the Way Home, orchestral suite,
1964.
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,
1965.
Fanfare for Freedom, 1968.
Symphony No. 1, 1983.
Chamber Music
Pastoral for Violin and Piano, 1953.
Intennezzo for Violin and Piano, 1954.
Sonata for Violin and Piano, 1961.
Sonata for Cello and Piano, 1964;
1975.
Continued on page 4
Sonata for French Horn and Piano,
1961. The third movement is
published by Associated Music
Publishers.
Trombone Quartet, 1974.
Night Song for Flute and Harp, 1984.
Keyboard
Three Preludes for Piano, 1961.
Contrasts for Piano, 1961.
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,
1965.
Prelude and Fugue for Organ, 1979.
Opera
Blake, 1984.
Chorus
Asperges Me, SSAATTBB, organ,
solo quartet, 1952.
Night Song, SATB, piano, 1962.
For You There Is No Song, SATB,
piano, 1962.
The Three Kings, SATB, piano, 1962.
Branch by Branch, SATB, 1962.
Creole Girl, SATB, piano, 1962.
Vocalise, SATB, 2 bassoons, 2 cellos,
1969.
Psalm 21, SATB, baritone solo, 1969.
Psalm 121, unaccompanied mixed
chorus with solo quarter, 1969.
Hosanna to the Son of David, SATB,
piano, 1969. Walton Music Corp.,
501 East Third, Dayton, OH 45401.
Under the Greenwood Tree, SATB, a
cappella, 1969.
Madrigal, SATB, a cappella, 1969.
New Music Co., P.O. Box 31757,
Aurora, Colorado 80041.
Tall Tales, also titled as There Was
an Old Man, SATB, piano, 1970.
Lawson-Gould Music P ublishers, New
York.
Love Song, SATB, piano, 1970.
Lawson-Gould Music Publishers, New
York.
We Shall Overcome, SATB
arrangement, 1959.
Solo Vocal
Five Songs on texts by Edna St.
Vincent Millay, for soprano, mezw­soprano,
tenor, and piano, 1961.
Wild Swans
Branch by Branch
For You There Is No Song
Patterson, Willis C. Anthology of
Art songs by Black American
Composers.
New York: Edward B. Marks
Music Corporation, 1977.
The Return from Town
Gone Again Is Summer the Lovely
British Newspapers as Source Material
The Case of James Douglass Bohee (1844-1897)
4
Six Songs on texts by Afro-American
poets, 1961.
Prayer (Langston Hughes)
The Heart of a Woman (Georgia
Douglas Johnson)
Night Song (Clarissa Scott Delany)
Since You Went Away (James
Weldon Johnson)
Creole Girl (Leslie M. Collins)
Drums of Tragedy (Langston Hughes)
Dunbar Songs, with piano or
orchestra, 1981.
Ballet
A Kiss in Xanadu, 1954, 1973.
Incidental Music
All the Way Home, 1964.
Death of a Salesman, 1960.
Leslie Adams has indicated that most
of his music will soon be published
by the American Composers Alliance
in New York. Inquiries concerning his
music may be addressed to : Dr. Leslie
Adams, 9409 Kempton Ave.,
Cleveland, OH 44108.
Discography
For You There Is No Song, 1961.
Produced by The University of
Michigan School of Music, Stereo,
SM 0015, Hilda Harris, mezzo­soprano,
1981.
by Jeffrey P. Green, 18 Batemans Court, Crawley, Sussex, RH10 6PS, England, October 24, 1984
Edward LeRoy Rice's Monarchs Of
Minstrelsy (New York, 1911, p. 142)
refers to James Douglass Bohee as the
"prominent colored performer and
concededly great banjoist, went to
England about 1880, where he was a
great success until the time of his
death in London, England, December
1, 1897." James Weldon Johnson's
Black Manhattan of 1930 refers to the
two Bohee brothers going to Europe
with Jack Haverl.y's minstrels. "They
were very popular, especially in
England, and one of them, James,
never came back." A third source on
minstrelsy, Harry Reynolds's Minstrel
Memories (London, 1928), is less well
known in America, for Reynolds was
a British burnt cork artist with no
links to the United States. He wrote
that the Bohee brothers were "an
attraction in the halls with their smart
and novel entertainment. At one time
they were greatly in demand in
London at society functions and
private entertainments. Their clever
banjo playing helped to popularize
this instrument to such an extent that
they were induced to open an
Academy up West for banjo tuition."
This London studio was where the
son of Queen Victoria, and thus heir
to the British throne, "took lessons on
the banjo from James D. Bohee." The
brothers formed a minstrel company
and "continued to tour the provinces
for several years, until shortly after
the death of the actual proprietor,
James D. Bohee, on December 1,
1897" (pp. 201-203; there are two
portraits of the pair opposite page
196). An investigation into the
contemporary press showed that
James Bohee did not die in London.
British newspapers are at the British
Library, Newspaper Library,
Colindale Avenue, London NW9, a
short walk from the metro station at
Colindale, and open six days a week.
The Era was Britain's entertainment
business weekly, and its edition of
December 11, 1897 (p. 21) noted that
Bohee's death took place in Merthyr
Tydfil, South Wales. The Merthyr
Express, a Saturday newspaper, had a
one paragraph review of the troupe's
show-"entertainments of a high class
nature were given by the Bohee
Operatic Minstrels. The Brothers
Bohee are most skillful banjoists and
their performance was very
favourably received." This report,
December 4, 1897, may have been
Continued on page 5
written from a publicity leaflet. The
Bohees had played at the local
temperance hall for three nights. As
Sam Hague's minstrels were booked
into the town's Theatre Royal, in a
show that included animated
photographs, perhaps the Bohee
Brothers were no longer so successful.
The Merthyr Express on December
11, 1897 (p. 5) reported the "Death of
Mr. James D. Bohee: The Renowned
Minstrel Passes Away at Ebbw Vale."
Spelling his middle name with one 's'
this report noted that James Bohee
had died from acute pneumonia after
a week's illness. He had made his
final appearance at Merthyr on
December 1, his 53rd birthday, and
then had journeyed to Ebbw Vale
(another coal mining center). He had
died in his wife's arms; his brother
was also present. "The deceased was
a Boston man by birth." (Eileen
Southern's Biographical Dictionary,
page 40, states Chicago.) He had
arrived in England with Haverly in
1880 and that group had first
performed at Her Majesty's Theatre,
London. "He and the surviving
brother, George, were considered the
best expert banjoists in the world,"
and had performed before royalty;
"they were commissioned to the
privilege of using the honourable title
of Royal Bohee Brothers."
The Era's obituary of December 11
said he had died from an illness
"resulting from a chill which he had
contracted at Merthyr on the
previous Thursday," and noted that
the brothers "did more to popularise
'the banjo' than any American
entertainer who has visited these
shores, either before their arrival or
since; and they were the favoured
instructors of Royalty." The Bohees
had been imitated, and "every barrel­organ
played their favourite banjo
song and dance" I'll Meet Her When
The Sun Goes Down. The Welsh
newspaper made no comment on
their ethnicity; the Era noted they
were "mulattos," and that the "Bohee
troupe of coloured minstrels became
very popular" in the provinces.
"Ocassionally they appeared in
London .... Members of the troupe
at one time included the Black Swan
Trio-performers who afterwards
migrated with success to the variety
theatres, where they were extremely
popular until the death of Miss
Corlene Cushman." James and
George Bohee had been working the
variety halls, apparently as a duo act.
The corpse was brought to London
and the funeral was held at Brompton
cemetery on Saturday, December 11,
1897. The details were in the Era, for,
as the Merthyr Express noted,
Brompton cemetery was "the last
resting place of large numbers of the
Dramatic and Music Hall profession,
of which the deceased was such a
distinguished member," and his
colleagues were able to pay their last
respects. George Bohee seems to have
remained in Europe, according to
Eileen Southern; James Bohee's
Bibliography of Music by Black Composers
a Note from Dominique-Rene de Lerma
Starting in 1981, Greenwood Press
began issuing its series, The
Greenwood Encyclopedia of Black
Music. Thus far, the series includes
Eileen Southern'·s most valuable
Biographical Dictionary of Black
American and African Musicians, and
four volumes of my Bibliography of
Black Music.
For my part, there are two more
bibliographic components. One is
literature on the individuals (an
estimated 32,000 entries). The other is
a detailed consideration of the music
(perhaps two volumes plus a third of
indexes). All currently available
informatiom is now being entered
into two computers.
This notice relates particularly to the
date on the music. This will not be
limited to "concert" music, although
the jazz and gospel coverage will be
less complete. The coverage will be
international, and-with reason-can
include music by undergraduates as
well as established professionals.
Every possible source which has come
to my attention during the past
decade and a half has been included.
widow has not been traced, and the
grave has not yet been located.
5
It is well known that Europe had its
attractions for Afro-Americans, with
a more liberal view of racial
properties and, for musicians,
audiences accepting acts which, as the
United States developed its vaudeville
skills and entertainment industries,
were perhaps no longer in style in
America. This note suggests that
there might be a great deal of
evidence in British provincial
newspapers on the activities of black
musicians whose reputation would
otherwise suffer from the lack of
detailed research outside the United
States. Such research must be made
with the awareness that some
contemporary reports will not
identify these artists by their color;
and with the reward of tracing, as in
the case of Corlene Cushman, other
black artists.
* * * * • * * *
Jeffrey Green's continued research
into the history of black people in
Britain 1890-1930, following the 1982
publication of his Edmund Thornton
Jenkins (Greenwood Press), has led to
research articles in the Black
Perspective In Music, Journal of
Negro History, Caribbean Studies,
and Ghana Studies Bulletin. In
mid-1984 he traced the 8S.-year-old
half-sister of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
and has identified that composer's
hither-to mysterious mother.
Contemporary composers whose
addresses are known will have a
chance to review their entries before
the manuscript is submitted to
Greenwood Press. Composers with
whom I've not been in
communication are most ardently
requested to identify themselves by
writing to me at 711 Stoney Springs
Drive, Baltimore, MD 21210. The
provisional deadline for the entry of
all new information is the end of this
year. The information desired, as
applicable, is the following:
Continued on back cover
• Composer's name, including all
pseudonyms, with year of birth;
• Title of every work, including
those withdrawn;
• Imprint (city, publisher, year of
issue if published, including all
reprintings and revisions);
• Collation (number of last
numbered page, plate number and
series if published);
• Author/librettist/lyricist of text or
of literary stimulus;
• Contents (titles or tempos of
movements);
• Duration;
• Instrumentation;
• Commission;
• Dedication;
• Premiere (date, city, location,
names of performers);
• Awards granted the work by
NEH Summer Seminar for College Teachers:
Black Music in the United States
Directed by Samuel A. Floyd, June 17-August 9, 1984
This seminar will study black music
in the United States since 1800,
focusing on selected aspects of the
music's history. The music and ideas
to be explored range from the
vernacular music of slaves and
literate output of Francis Johnson and
James Hemmenway to the varied
black musical expressions and events
of the present. The methods of the
seminar will be general and
diversified, and participants will have
the opportunity to focus on the entire
musical heritage of black Americans
or on specific periods, genres, or
other aspects of the field. The
seminar will begin its study of black
music through an investigation of
various sources and bibliographic
materials, and then go on to apply
traditional historical and analytical
methodologies to a variety of
traditions (folk, popular, classical)
and styles (blues, ragtime, opera).
Participants will also discuss the
relationship of black music to black
culture and to American culture at
large. Applications are encouraged
Employment Opportunity
Lafayette College
whom and when;
• libraries (insitiutional or private)
holding this edition;
• Recordings (if commercial: label,
performers, relea~ date; if not
commercial: performers, date of
recording);
• libraries (institutional or private)
holding this recording.
All information provided will be
greatly appreciated.
from college teachers in a variety of
disciplines. Half of the participants in
the seminar will be music specialists,
and the other half will be selected
from a variety of fields in the
humanities, with preference given to
those whose teaching and research
interests relate to black music or
Afro-American culture.
Center for Black Music Research
Columbia College Chicago
600 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60605
Morris R. Williams Center for the Arts, Department of Music, Announces an Opening in its Visiting Black Scholars
Program, for the 1985-1986 Academic Year
Lafayette College is seeking highly
qualified applicants for a one year
position in the department of Music
as a Visiting Black Scholar. This
person will be teaching two or three
courses each semester (one of which
will consist of conducting the College
Jazz Ensemble program). Other
courses might include: Music in
America, Music in Non-Western
Cultures, Music of Black Americans;
BMR Newsletter is devoted to the
mcouragement and promotion of scholarship
and cultural activity in black Am,rican music,
and is intendod to Sfrve as a modium for the
sharing of idus and information rogarding
current and future research and activities in
universities and research centers.
other topics according to interests and
discipline (proposals are invited).
The college is a highly competitive
4-year, private (Presbyterian) school
with a coeducational enrollment of
approximately 2000 students, located
in Eastern Pennsylvania (about 60
miles north of Philadelphia and 80
BMR Newsletter is pub~shed jointly by the
Columbia Colleg• Cmter for Black Music
Rtsearch and the Fisk University Institute for
R...,arch in Black American Music.
Information submitted for inclusion should be
mailed to: Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., editor. Center
for Black Music Research, Columbia College,
Chicago, lllinois 60605.
miles west of New York City with
easy access to both). Salary and
fringe benefits very attractive.
Resumes may be sent before February
1, 1985 to:
William E. Melin
Associate Professor & Head
Music Department
Lafayette College
Easton, Pennsylvania 18042
Inquiries regardi113 subscription, as well as
subscription payments, should be sent to:
Publications
Cmttr for Black Music Research
Cot..mbia Collegt Chicago
Chicago. Illinois 60605

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BLACK MUSIC RESEARCH
NEWSLETTER
COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO/FISK UNIVERSITY
Vol. 7, No.1 ISSN Number 0271-3799 Fall 1984
Black Music and the Humanities in America:
A Summer Institute for Faculty from United Negro College Fund­Affiliated
Schools
by William T. Dargan, Institute Director
Fisk University has become the fourth
school to host an annual summer
institute for humanities teachers from
member institutions of the United
Negro College Fund (UNCF). Funded
by the Mellon Foundation, this four­week
institute was held during the
month of June, 1984 and examined
black music as a focal point for
curriculum development. Twenty
faculty members from UNCF schools
participated, and there were ten
lecturer-consultants available
periodically throughout the four
weeks, along with a permanent, full­time
staff of four. The staff sought to
attract participants who would
broadly represent the range of
humanities disciplines, including but
not limited to music, since the two-fold
purpose of this learning
experience was to increase the
participants' knowledge of the
humanities, as viewed from a black
perspective, and to stimulate
curriculum development.
Activities of the institute were
organized around four broad themes,
each emphasized for one week.
During the first week, lectures on
recent developments and future
directions in black music research and
curriculum development were
presented by Samuel A. Floyd, Jr.,
Columbia College, Chicago;
Dominique-Rene de Lerma, Morgan
State University; Darius L. Thieme,
Fisk University; and James Standifer,
University of Michigan.
Black folk and religious music since
1800 were considered during the
second week. Lect\lrer-consultants
were Portia Maultsby, Indiana
University; Riggins Earl,
Interdenominational Theological
Seminary, Atlanta; Horace C. Boyer,
University of Massachusetts; and
Bernice J. Reagon, the Smithsonian
Institution.
The third week focused on the
general subject of black composers
and musical theater, and lecturer­consultants
were Geneva Southall,
University of Minnesota; Eileen
Southern, Harvard University; and
Martin Williams, the Smithsonian
Institution.
The work of institute participants in
developing curriculum materials was
the subject of the fourth and final
week. Each participant had prepared,
with the help of lecturers-consultants
and staff, a teaching unit on a topic
that could cover four to six class
hours or a two-week study period.
Materials researched and written
during the institute are to be tested
through use in UNCF schools and
subsequently developed into
workbooks, manuals, and/or
textbooks uniquely suited to the
needs of interdisciplinary instruction
in the humanities and fine arts. To
this end, copies of selected curriculum
materials developed at the institute
will be forwarded to each UNCF
member institution as well as to each
institute participant.
Participants often commented on the
need for the development of
curriculum materials about the black
experience that are suitable for use in
the general, arts appreciation-oriented
courses required of all first- and
second-year students at liberal arts
institutions. Other than The
Humanities Through the Black
Experience, a somewhat dated and
uneven selection of units edited by
Phyllis Klotman, few publications
meet this pressing need.
Consequently, institute participants
were found to have developed their
own materials from year to year as a
means of compensating for this lack.
Until something more is available,
these locally assembled, cheaply
reproduced, in-house compendiums
must suffice. And that they do quite
well. But there is the felt need for the
synthesis of ideas and insights that
only works achieving more general
currency could provide. This is to say
that the form in which teaching
materials are presented makes a
strong impression upon the minds for
whom they are produced. Eileen
Southern's The Music of Black
Americans: A History, the definitive
history of Afro-American music,
represents a strong point of departure
for the "serious" student of black
music. But there is no comparably
authoritative or imaginative textbook
available to students who are charged
with understanding black music in its
Continued on page 2
2
relationship to other disciplines that
articulate its socio-cultural context.
The absence of such a published text
presents other problems as well. The
common wisdom is that a good
teacher can make a subject "come
alive." But too much of a burden is
placed upon even outstanding
professors in teaching institutions,
who must carry unwieldy class loads
and research and write much of their
own course materials, if the
humanities and fine arts are to be
taught from a black perspective.
Moreover, humanities teachers (along
with those in other areas) Sttk to
encourage critical thought and
searching reflection by students who
encounter the subject for perhaps the
first time. In any case, it certainly
does not follow that because courses
are introductory or "general" they
must necessarily be unimaginative or
trite. These factors place a severe
burden upon the individual or team
within a single institution that must
be responsible for researching,
writing, and teaching a course that by
nature and design is interdisciplinary.
Teaching units developed by institute
participants speak to most, if not all,
of the concerns mentioned above.
Several of these units are unique for
the singular and timely quality of the
topics themselves. For instance, how
many courses presently encompass
"Images of Black Women in the
Blues," "A Local History of Black
Music in Memphis, Tennessee," or "A
Model for an Aesthetic Analysis of
the Blues?" How many courses
challenge students to think and write
cogently about "Parallels in Black Art
and Popular Music," or to identify
"Archetypal Patterns in Black Poetry
and Song?" Can faculty or students
tell us who Frances Cole (1937-1983)
was or understand the life and times
of diva Jessye Norman enough to
fully appreciate her artistic
excellence7
The list of teaching units that follows
suggests that movement had begun
toward improved instruction in the
humanities through the use of black
music as a tool or enhancer. For this,
we have to thank those institute
participants who make maximum use
of limited time and research facilities
in developing materials that could
have a lasting impact on the "what"
and the "how" of humanities teaching
in American schools.
List of Authors and
Teaching Unit Topics
Anderson, Phyllis Wynn (Paine
College, Augusta, GA). A Study of
Black Women in Opera with
Emphasis upon Jessye Norman.
Blake, Bobby (Knoxville College,
Knoxville, TN). Selected Negro
Spirituals as Performed by the Fisk
Jubilee Singers.
Chamblee, Angela (Atlanta
University, Atlanta, GA). The Ethos
of the Blues: A Teaching Unit.
Champagne, Deborah (Wiley College,
Marshall, TX). The Value of the
Universal: A Perspective on Imagery
and Archetypal Patterns in Black
Literature and Song.
Collins, Willie R. (Tuskeegee
Institute, Tuskeegee Institute, AL). A
Study in Black American Musical
Aesthetics with Particular Attention
to the Blues.
Curry-Jones, Beulah Agnes (Huston­Tillotson
College, Austin, TX). A
Profile of Dr. Frances Elaine Cole
(1937-83), Harpsichordist.
Oobard, Roland A. (T ougaloo
College, Tougaloo, MS). The Negro
Spiritual as Arranged by Four Black
Composers.
Green, Mildred 0. (Lemoyne-Owen
College, Memphis, TN). Black Music
and Musicians in Memphis, Tennessee
from 1950-1980.
Green, Paulette B. (Voorhees College,
Denmark, SC). Images of the Black
Woman in Blues Lyrics.
Holt, Freddie T. (Johnson C. Smith
Univsersity, Charlotte, NC). Musical,
Visual, and Cultural Parallelism
Between Art Depicted on the Album
"Water Babies" by Miles Davis and
the Music Therein.
la.Falle-Collins, Lizzetta (Tuskegee
Institute, Tuskegee Institute, AL). The
Image of the Musician in African­American
Art: Positive or Negative.
laRue, Earl (Wiley College, Marshall,
TX). The Use of the Spiritual as a
Signal for Slave Uprisings and
Movement Toward Freedom.
McNealey, Ernest ( Oaflin College,
Orangeburg, SC). ParaT/e/s in Black
Art and Black Popular Music
Between 1965 and 1975: Vehicles for
Socio-Political Rhetoric.
Mickens, Hayward I. (Fisk
University, Nashville, TN). Afro­American
Folksong Collections and
Their Compilers.
Perry, Frank (Jarvis Chr istian
College, Hawkins, TX). Paying Dues:
The Development of Selected Afro­American
Opera Singer.
PoweU, Hiram C. (Bethune-Cookman
College, Daytona Beach, Fl). The
Effect of Black Culture on Native
European Composers of Keyboard
Music.
Thomas, Eve.rett (Saint Augustine's
College, Raleigh, NC). A Profile of
Selected Black Composers of
Liturgical Music.
Woodfaulk, Courtney 5. (Claflin
College, Orangeburg, SC). An
Investigation of Black Gospel Music:
A Historical Perspective.
WorreU, Imogene M. (Fisk
University, Nashville, TN). Folk
Music for Black Children.
Those interested in obtaining a copy
of any one teaching unit should
contact the author. A selected
number of teaching units will be
included in The Institute Materials, a
publication that should be available
by August, 1985. A brief description
of the bibliography from other units
developed during the institute will
also be included. A limited number of
copies of The Institute Materials will
be available to those who request
them in writing from The Institute for
Research in Black American Music,
Fisk University, Nashville, TN 37203.
A check for $3.00 (made payable to
Fisk University) to cover shipping and
handling charges should accompany
each order.
While no funding has been sought for
research expenses or for faculty
release time to follow up this project,
perhaps a process of collaboration
and dialogue has been set in motion.
Such a beginning could ultimately
generate materials to meet the needs
of students in introductory
humanities and fine arts courses who
seek a deeper understanding of the
black experience in America.
3
Composers Corner
by Lucius Wyatt, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas
Leslie Adams
Leslie Adams (b. 1932), whose career
in music had afforded him rich
experiences with various professional
ballets and dance organiutions, is
currently composing music on a full­time
basis in Cleveland, Ohio. From
1957 to 1962 Adams served as piano
accompanist for the American Ballet
Center, the Robert Joffrey Ballet, the
June Taylor Dancers, the Newark
Ballet Academy, the Karl Shook
Dancers and the Ruthanna Boris
Ballet. His interest in the dance is
even noted in his student years at
Oberlin where he was approached by
a choreographer to compose the
music for a ballet. The result was his
ballet, A Kiss in Xanadu.
Before assuming his current position
as composer-in-residence at the
Cleveland Music School Settlement,
Adams held various positions as
vocal music teacher, church choir
director, and university professor. He
has served as musical director and
composer-in-residence at the Karamu
House in Cleveland, and he has
ta1.1ght on the faculties of Florida
A&M University and the University
of Kansas.
Leslie Adams received his bachelor's
degree from Oberlin, the Master of
Arts degree from California State
University at Long Beach, and the
Ph.D. degree from Ohio State
University. He has pursued studies in
composition with Herbert Elwell,
Joseph Wood, Robert Starer, Vittorio
Giannini, Leon Dallin, Edward
Mattila, Eugene O'Brien, and Marcel
Dick. In 1979 he was a Fellow at the
Rockefeller Foundation's Villa
Serbelloni in Bellagio, Italy and a
Fellow of the Yaddo Artists Colony
in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Several of Adams's musical activities
have contributed to his uniqueness as
a composer and an educator. His
participation as a composer in the
Meet the Artist series funded by the
Martha Holden Jennings Foundation
was judged an outstanding success.
This project afforded him
opportunities to interact with school
children about music in more than
sixty public schools in Cleveland. He
has served on the panel of judges for
the student composition awards
sponsored by Broadcast Music, Inc.
(1982). His Concerto for Piano and
Orchestra was performed in the 1974
Symposium of Symphonic Music by
Black Composers in Houston.
Recently, he began work on a large­scale
work, the opera Blake. The
opera is based on a novel by Martin
R. Delany about an imaginary slave
uprising in Mississippi before the
Civil War. The librettist for Blake is
Daniel Mayers, Dean at Brooklyn
College.
The music of Leslie Adams has been
performed by such orchestras as the
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Following a performance of. his
Hosanna to the Son of David by the
Evelyn White Chorale at the national
Gallery of Art, Lon Tuck of the
Washington Post wrote, "The most
exciting moment came in the
Washington premiere of ... Hosanna
to the Son of David." Other works
have been performed by noted
musicians such as organist Leonard
Raver, pianist Armenta Adams
Hummings, cellist Donald White, and
soprano Barbara Conrad. Raoul
Abdul of the New York Amsterdam
News has written, 'The New York
premiere of Adams's Meadow Lark
{from the Dunbar songs) turned out
to be one of the highlights of the
program."
Adams feels his personal philosophy
about composing music is inextricably
related to his own life experiences. He
states, 'The creating of music is, for
me, the setting down of experience:
experiences I have had (and)
experiences I am having .... The
part of my experiences which has
been most rewarding has been my
spiritual progress, which has provided
me with a context for my work. My
faith in God and my awareness of the
assignment which he has given to me,
to write music, has helped me to be
evermore relaxed and unanxious
about my life and work."
Leslie Adams explains his approach to
composing music in the following
manner: "In order to write, I try to
keep my mind free of other music
when I'm working. I don't go to a lot
of concerts or listen to a lot of
classical music, particularly
contemporary classical music. I don't
want to get my mind clouded and
end up writing what I just heard. I go
into a room with a piano and
preferably not much else in that room
to distract me and I just go at it.
Sometimes it's very slow. 1 might
spend a whole day piddling around
trying to get something down and
then all of a sudden when I least
expect it, around eight at night, it just
takes off!"
In his Sonata for Violin and Piano,
the Sonata for Cello and Piano, the
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,
and the piece for solo voice, For You
There ls No Song, his musical style
may be summarized in the following
manner. He writes melodies which
are apt to leave the liste.ner humming
or whistling long after the music is
finished. His tonal language is
basically triadic with emphasis on
definite key centers. He generally
devotes considerable attention to
thematic development. To be sure,
the spirit and character of his music
goes in the opposite direction of the
avant-garde.
The Music of Leslie Adams
Orchestra
A Kiss in Xanadu, concert piece,
1954; revised, 1973.
All the Way Home, orchestral suite,
1964.
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,
1965.
Fanfare for Freedom, 1968.
Symphony No. 1, 1983.
Chamber Music
Pastoral for Violin and Piano, 1953.
Intennezzo for Violin and Piano, 1954.
Sonata for Violin and Piano, 1961.
Sonata for Cello and Piano, 1964;
1975.
Continued on page 4
Sonata for French Horn and Piano,
1961. The third movement is
published by Associated Music
Publishers.
Trombone Quartet, 1974.
Night Song for Flute and Harp, 1984.
Keyboard
Three Preludes for Piano, 1961.
Contrasts for Piano, 1961.
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra,
1965.
Prelude and Fugue for Organ, 1979.
Opera
Blake, 1984.
Chorus
Asperges Me, SSAATTBB, organ,
solo quartet, 1952.
Night Song, SATB, piano, 1962.
For You There Is No Song, SATB,
piano, 1962.
The Three Kings, SATB, piano, 1962.
Branch by Branch, SATB, 1962.
Creole Girl, SATB, piano, 1962.
Vocalise, SATB, 2 bassoons, 2 cellos,
1969.
Psalm 21, SATB, baritone solo, 1969.
Psalm 121, unaccompanied mixed
chorus with solo quarter, 1969.
Hosanna to the Son of David, SATB,
piano, 1969. Walton Music Corp.,
501 East Third, Dayton, OH 45401.
Under the Greenwood Tree, SATB, a
cappella, 1969.
Madrigal, SATB, a cappella, 1969.
New Music Co., P.O. Box 31757,
Aurora, Colorado 80041.
Tall Tales, also titled as There Was
an Old Man, SATB, piano, 1970.
Lawson-Gould Music P ublishers, New
York.
Love Song, SATB, piano, 1970.
Lawson-Gould Music Publishers, New
York.
We Shall Overcome, SATB
arrangement, 1959.
Solo Vocal
Five Songs on texts by Edna St.
Vincent Millay, for soprano, mezw­soprano,
tenor, and piano, 1961.
Wild Swans
Branch by Branch
For You There Is No Song
Patterson, Willis C. Anthology of
Art songs by Black American
Composers.
New York: Edward B. Marks
Music Corporation, 1977.
The Return from Town
Gone Again Is Summer the Lovely
British Newspapers as Source Material
The Case of James Douglass Bohee (1844-1897)
4
Six Songs on texts by Afro-American
poets, 1961.
Prayer (Langston Hughes)
The Heart of a Woman (Georgia
Douglas Johnson)
Night Song (Clarissa Scott Delany)
Since You Went Away (James
Weldon Johnson)
Creole Girl (Leslie M. Collins)
Drums of Tragedy (Langston Hughes)
Dunbar Songs, with piano or
orchestra, 1981.
Ballet
A Kiss in Xanadu, 1954, 1973.
Incidental Music
All the Way Home, 1964.
Death of a Salesman, 1960.
Leslie Adams has indicated that most
of his music will soon be published
by the American Composers Alliance
in New York. Inquiries concerning his
music may be addressed to : Dr. Leslie
Adams, 9409 Kempton Ave.,
Cleveland, OH 44108.
Discography
For You There Is No Song, 1961.
Produced by The University of
Michigan School of Music, Stereo,
SM 0015, Hilda Harris, mezzo­soprano,
1981.
by Jeffrey P. Green, 18 Batemans Court, Crawley, Sussex, RH10 6PS, England, October 24, 1984
Edward LeRoy Rice's Monarchs Of
Minstrelsy (New York, 1911, p. 142)
refers to James Douglass Bohee as the
"prominent colored performer and
concededly great banjoist, went to
England about 1880, where he was a
great success until the time of his
death in London, England, December
1, 1897." James Weldon Johnson's
Black Manhattan of 1930 refers to the
two Bohee brothers going to Europe
with Jack Haverl.y's minstrels. "They
were very popular, especially in
England, and one of them, James,
never came back." A third source on
minstrelsy, Harry Reynolds's Minstrel
Memories (London, 1928), is less well
known in America, for Reynolds was
a British burnt cork artist with no
links to the United States. He wrote
that the Bohee brothers were "an
attraction in the halls with their smart
and novel entertainment. At one time
they were greatly in demand in
London at society functions and
private entertainments. Their clever
banjo playing helped to popularize
this instrument to such an extent that
they were induced to open an
Academy up West for banjo tuition."
This London studio was where the
son of Queen Victoria, and thus heir
to the British throne, "took lessons on
the banjo from James D. Bohee." The
brothers formed a minstrel company
and "continued to tour the provinces
for several years, until shortly after
the death of the actual proprietor,
James D. Bohee, on December 1,
1897" (pp. 201-203; there are two
portraits of the pair opposite page
196). An investigation into the
contemporary press showed that
James Bohee did not die in London.
British newspapers are at the British
Library, Newspaper Library,
Colindale Avenue, London NW9, a
short walk from the metro station at
Colindale, and open six days a week.
The Era was Britain's entertainment
business weekly, and its edition of
December 11, 1897 (p. 21) noted that
Bohee's death took place in Merthyr
Tydfil, South Wales. The Merthyr
Express, a Saturday newspaper, had a
one paragraph review of the troupe's
show-"entertainments of a high class
nature were given by the Bohee
Operatic Minstrels. The Brothers
Bohee are most skillful banjoists and
their performance was very
favourably received." This report,
December 4, 1897, may have been
Continued on page 5
written from a publicity leaflet. The
Bohees had played at the local
temperance hall for three nights. As
Sam Hague's minstrels were booked
into the town's Theatre Royal, in a
show that included animated
photographs, perhaps the Bohee
Brothers were no longer so successful.
The Merthyr Express on December
11, 1897 (p. 5) reported the "Death of
Mr. James D. Bohee: The Renowned
Minstrel Passes Away at Ebbw Vale."
Spelling his middle name with one 's'
this report noted that James Bohee
had died from acute pneumonia after
a week's illness. He had made his
final appearance at Merthyr on
December 1, his 53rd birthday, and
then had journeyed to Ebbw Vale
(another coal mining center). He had
died in his wife's arms; his brother
was also present. "The deceased was
a Boston man by birth." (Eileen
Southern's Biographical Dictionary,
page 40, states Chicago.) He had
arrived in England with Haverly in
1880 and that group had first
performed at Her Majesty's Theatre,
London. "He and the surviving
brother, George, were considered the
best expert banjoists in the world,"
and had performed before royalty;
"they were commissioned to the
privilege of using the honourable title
of Royal Bohee Brothers."
The Era's obituary of December 11
said he had died from an illness
"resulting from a chill which he had
contracted at Merthyr on the
previous Thursday," and noted that
the brothers "did more to popularise
'the banjo' than any American
entertainer who has visited these
shores, either before their arrival or
since; and they were the favoured
instructors of Royalty." The Bohees
had been imitated, and "every barrel­organ
played their favourite banjo
song and dance" I'll Meet Her When
The Sun Goes Down. The Welsh
newspaper made no comment on
their ethnicity; the Era noted they
were "mulattos," and that the "Bohee
troupe of coloured minstrels became
very popular" in the provinces.
"Ocassionally they appeared in
London .... Members of the troupe
at one time included the Black Swan
Trio-performers who afterwards
migrated with success to the variety
theatres, where they were extremely
popular until the death of Miss
Corlene Cushman." James and
George Bohee had been working the
variety halls, apparently as a duo act.
The corpse was brought to London
and the funeral was held at Brompton
cemetery on Saturday, December 11,
1897. The details were in the Era, for,
as the Merthyr Express noted,
Brompton cemetery was "the last
resting place of large numbers of the
Dramatic and Music Hall profession,
of which the deceased was such a
distinguished member," and his
colleagues were able to pay their last
respects. George Bohee seems to have
remained in Europe, according to
Eileen Southern; James Bohee's
Bibliography of Music by Black Composers
a Note from Dominique-Rene de Lerma
Starting in 1981, Greenwood Press
began issuing its series, The
Greenwood Encyclopedia of Black
Music. Thus far, the series includes
Eileen Southern'·s most valuable
Biographical Dictionary of Black
American and African Musicians, and
four volumes of my Bibliography of
Black Music.
For my part, there are two more
bibliographic components. One is
literature on the individuals (an
estimated 32,000 entries). The other is
a detailed consideration of the music
(perhaps two volumes plus a third of
indexes). All currently available
informatiom is now being entered
into two computers.
This notice relates particularly to the
date on the music. This will not be
limited to "concert" music, although
the jazz and gospel coverage will be
less complete. The coverage will be
international, and-with reason-can
include music by undergraduates as
well as established professionals.
Every possible source which has come
to my attention during the past
decade and a half has been included.
widow has not been traced, and the
grave has not yet been located.
5
It is well known that Europe had its
attractions for Afro-Americans, with
a more liberal view of racial
properties and, for musicians,
audiences accepting acts which, as the
United States developed its vaudeville
skills and entertainment industries,
were perhaps no longer in style in
America. This note suggests that
there might be a great deal of
evidence in British provincial
newspapers on the activities of black
musicians whose reputation would
otherwise suffer from the lack of
detailed research outside the United
States. Such research must be made
with the awareness that some
contemporary reports will not
identify these artists by their color;
and with the reward of tracing, as in
the case of Corlene Cushman, other
black artists.
* * * * • * * *
Jeffrey Green's continued research
into the history of black people in
Britain 1890-1930, following the 1982
publication of his Edmund Thornton
Jenkins (Greenwood Press), has led to
research articles in the Black
Perspective In Music, Journal of
Negro History, Caribbean Studies,
and Ghana Studies Bulletin. In
mid-1984 he traced the 8S.-year-old
half-sister of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
and has identified that composer's
hither-to mysterious mother.
Contemporary composers whose
addresses are known will have a
chance to review their entries before
the manuscript is submitted to
Greenwood Press. Composers with
whom I've not been in
communication are most ardently
requested to identify themselves by
writing to me at 711 Stoney Springs
Drive, Baltimore, MD 21210. The
provisional deadline for the entry of
all new information is the end of this
year. The information desired, as
applicable, is the following:
Continued on back cover
• Composer's name, including all
pseudonyms, with year of birth;
• Title of every work, including
those withdrawn;
• Imprint (city, publisher, year of
issue if published, including all
reprintings and revisions);
• Collation (number of last
numbered page, plate number and
series if published);
• Author/librettist/lyricist of text or
of literary stimulus;
• Contents (titles or tempos of
movements);
• Duration;
• Instrumentation;
• Commission;
• Dedication;
• Premiere (date, city, location,
names of performers);
• Awards granted the work by
NEH Summer Seminar for College Teachers:
Black Music in the United States
Directed by Samuel A. Floyd, June 17-August 9, 1984
This seminar will study black music
in the United States since 1800,
focusing on selected aspects of the
music's history. The music and ideas
to be explored range from the
vernacular music of slaves and
literate output of Francis Johnson and
James Hemmenway to the varied
black musical expressions and events
of the present. The methods of the
seminar will be general and
diversified, and participants will have
the opportunity to focus on the entire
musical heritage of black Americans
or on specific periods, genres, or
other aspects of the field. The
seminar will begin its study of black
music through an investigation of
various sources and bibliographic
materials, and then go on to apply
traditional historical and analytical
methodologies to a variety of
traditions (folk, popular, classical)
and styles (blues, ragtime, opera).
Participants will also discuss the
relationship of black music to black
culture and to American culture at
large. Applications are encouraged
Employment Opportunity
Lafayette College
whom and when;
• libraries (insitiutional or private)
holding this edition;
• Recordings (if commercial: label,
performers, relea~ date; if not
commercial: performers, date of
recording);
• libraries (institutional or private)
holding this recording.
All information provided will be
greatly appreciated.
from college teachers in a variety of
disciplines. Half of the participants in
the seminar will be music specialists,
and the other half will be selected
from a variety of fields in the
humanities, with preference given to
those whose teaching and research
interests relate to black music or
Afro-American culture.
Center for Black Music Research
Columbia College Chicago
600 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60605
Morris R. Williams Center for the Arts, Department of Music, Announces an Opening in its Visiting Black Scholars
Program, for the 1985-1986 Academic Year
Lafayette College is seeking highly
qualified applicants for a one year
position in the department of Music
as a Visiting Black Scholar. This
person will be teaching two or three
courses each semester (one of which
will consist of conducting the College
Jazz Ensemble program). Other
courses might include: Music in
America, Music in Non-Western
Cultures, Music of Black Americans;
BMR Newsletter is devoted to the
mcouragement and promotion of scholarship
and cultural activity in black Am,rican music,
and is intendod to Sfrve as a modium for the
sharing of idus and information rogarding
current and future research and activities in
universities and research centers.
other topics according to interests and
discipline (proposals are invited).
The college is a highly competitive
4-year, private (Presbyterian) school
with a coeducational enrollment of
approximately 2000 students, located
in Eastern Pennsylvania (about 60
miles north of Philadelphia and 80
BMR Newsletter is pub~shed jointly by the
Columbia Colleg• Cmter for Black Music
Rtsearch and the Fisk University Institute for
R...,arch in Black American Music.
Information submitted for inclusion should be
mailed to: Samuel A. Floyd, Jr., editor. Center
for Black Music Research, Columbia College,
Chicago, lllinois 60605.
miles west of New York City with
easy access to both). Salary and
fringe benefits very attractive.
Resumes may be sent before February
1, 1985 to:
William E. Melin
Associate Professor & Head
Music Department
Lafayette College
Easton, Pennsylvania 18042
Inquiries regardi113 subscription, as well as
subscription payments, should be sent to:
Publications
Cmttr for Black Music Research
Cot..mbia Collegt Chicago
Chicago. Illinois 60605